GitHub

Technology / Developer Tools

Founded in 2008, GitHub is the world's largest platform for software development and version control, hosting millions of open source projects and enterprise codebases. It operates as an independent subsidiary of Microsoft.

View Official GitHub Careers

Official GitHub Careers Website

Quick Facts

Founded: 2008
Founders: Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, P.J. Hyett, Scott Chacon
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Parent: Microsoft (since 2018)

About GitHub

GitHub was founded in 2008 in San Francisco, introducing a web-based interface and collaborative tools built on top of Git (the version control system created by Linus Torvalds). It rapidly became the de facto hub for open source software development and collaboration globally.

Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018 for $7.5 billion in stock, allowing it to operate as an independent business. GitHub has increasingly integrated AI into the developer workflow, most notably with the launch of GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer, in 2021.

What GitHub Does

Version Control & Collaboration

Git-based repository hosting, pull requests, and code review tools.

AI Developer Tools

GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant integrated directly into developer environments.

CI/CD & Automation

GitHub Actions for automating software workflows, testing, and deployment.

Security

GitHub Advanced Security, including Dependabot for dependency scanning and code scanning tools.

Career Areas

Types of professional roles found inside GitHub.

Software Engineering
Product Management
Developer Relations
Security Engineering
Design
Sales & Marketing
Customer Success

GitHub's History

2008
Founded
GitHub founded in San Francisco as a platform for collaborative code sharing.
2018
Acquired by Microsoft
Microsoft acquires GitHub for $7.5 billion; GitHub remains an independent entity.
2019
GitHub Actions launched
GitHub Actions launched, adding native CI/CD and automation to the platform.
2021
GitHub Copilot introduced
GitHub Copilot introduced, pioneering AI-assisted code generation for developers.
2023
100 million developers
GitHub announces it has surpassed 100 million developers on the platform.

Purpose & Values

“To accelerate human progress through developer collaboration”

GitHub describes its mission as building the platform that enables developers to do their best work -- making software development more accessible, collaborative, and secure.

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